


blossoming alone over you

by eunwoozi



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: First Meeting, M/M, ballet dancer jihoon, figure skater minghao, figure skating AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 11:50:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18894052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eunwoozi/pseuds/eunwoozi
Summary: Ballet dancer Jihoon gets roped into an ice skating lesson with figure skater Minghao. Lots of hand holding ensues.





	blossoming alone over you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kinqarfur](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinqarfur/gifts).



> for my darling chris,  
> this wouldn't exist without you. i hope you enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it. i love you!! 
> 
> i love hoonhao and i have a lot to say about them. this is just the tip of the iceberg.  
> also just a disclaimer i've been to the ice rink approximately 3 times in my entire life so pls don't hold me to any accurate skating knowledge. 
> 
> title is from pink in the night by mitski.

It felt like minutes: from the time he finished his paper, submitted it bleary-eyed at ass o’clock in the morning, and crawled to bed. It felt like minutes: from the moment his head hit the pillows to the constant vibration of his phone. It felt like minutes: from the vibration of his phone to the very rapid and insistent knocking on his door. 

He drowned his head underneath a swaddle of blankets and pillows but the knocking got louder and more rapid and it began to feel like someone was tapping at the inside of his skull. 

He groggily rolled out of bed and trudged to the door. He swung open the door mid-knock to Wonwoo standing at the doorway, fist raised with steadily reddening knuckles. Wonwoo broke out into a wide grin—too wide, unnaturally wide. 

“What,” Jihoon heaved a sigh and glared at Wonwoo, “did you need at—” Jihoon squinted at his watch and felt his blood boil,”—SEVEN IN THE MORNING?” 

Wonwoo’s grin didn’t falter. If anything, it just got wider. 

“Good morning!” Wonwoo pushed his way into Jihoon’s room. Jihoon was about to retort when he held up a bag that smelled delightfully unhealthy. “I brought you two egg McMuffins and some hash browns.” He shoved the bag into his hands and made his way to Jihoon’s desk, settling down a large drink. 

“Is that—” Jihoon nodded at the drink on his table.

“Large Coke? Of course.” Wonwoo clasped his hands together and continued to grin at Jihoon. 

He rolled his eyes and shoved a hash brown into his mouth. “What do you need?” 

Wonwoo just batted his eyes at him, “I don’t know what you mean.” 

Jihoon swallowed his hash brown and alternated with a bite of the McMuffin. “You wouldn’t buy me food unless you need something,” he said, mouth full. “Just spit it out.” 

Wonwoo’s grin collapsed and he looked at him with large pleading eyes. “Alright, so I have a video project due tonight.” Jihoon nodded and sipped on his drink. “And I completely forgot about it—so I need to film, cut, and edit a video all by midnight.” 

Jihoon took another large gulp of his drink. “I guess I can learn how to cut and edit videos.” 

Wonwoo broke out the wide unnatural grin again, “I need you to be in my video.” 

Jihoon just gave him a dead-eyed stare, “No.” 

“You don’t even know what my video is.” Wonwoo frowned.

“Alright, what’s your video?”

“’Ballet Dancer Learns How To Figure Skate’”. 

“No.” 

“Jihoon,” Wonwoo whined. 

“I don’t like people watching me.” Jihoon took another bite of his sandwich.

Wonwoo gave him an incredulous stare, “You dance in front of people for a living.” 

Jihoon waved his hands dismissively, “Not the same thing.” 

“It is exactly the same thing.” Wonwoo retorted. 

Jihoon sighed and took another bite of the hash brown, “I don’t know how to skate.” 

Wonwoo shrugged, “That’s why it’s called ‘Ballet Dancer _Learns_ How To Figure Skate’. That’s the fun in the video.” 

Jihoon shook his head and set his drink down. “No, not figure skating. I don’t know how to ice skate.” 

Wonwoo just stared at him, “What do you mean you don’t know how to ice skate? Who doesn't know how to ice skate?” 

Jihoon glared at him, “Me. I don’t know how to ice skate.” 

“You don’t know how to ice skate?” Wonwoo reiterated. 

Jihoon heaved a sigh and looked at him. “No, but I have some friends who can probably be in your video.” He grabbed for his phone on his desk.

Wonwoo reached out to stop him, “No—don’t. It’s fine. We can change the video to ‘Ballet Dancer Learns How To Ice Skate’ or something.” 

Jihoon shrugged him off, “Junhui’s really nice—he wouldn’t mind. And he owes me for something anyways.” He scrolled through his contacts.

“No—I don’t know your ballet friends. It’ll be weird,” Wonwoo protested. “Come on Jihoon, please?” 

Jihoon narrowed his eyes at Wonwoo, and took a bite of his second McMuffin. “What’s in it for me?” 

Wonwoo looked around, “I’ll buy you breakfast tomorrow?” 

Jihoon just stared at him and took another long sip of his drink.

“Alright, for the whole week?” 

Jihoon nodded. “Deal.” 

Wonwoo lit up. “Great! Come on, let’s go!” He stood up and took his drink—Jihoon’s drink—with him. 

He swiveled around, food still in his mouth, “Wha—now?” 

Wonwoo nodded urgently, “Midnight deadline, remember?” 

He gave him a deadpan stare, “I had to pull an all-nighter and now you want me to learn how to ice skate at 7am?” 

Wonwoo grinned at him sheepishly, “Two weeks?” 

Jihoon stared at Wonwoo, and he stared back unblinkingly. 

He exhaled, “Alright, fine. I’ll meet you downstairs in ten.”

Wonwoo beamed and headed out the door, “Hurry up, I think Minghao’s already at the ice rink.” 

Jihoon sighed, and looked longingly at his bed. It had only been minutes. He furrowed his brow. “Wait—,” he called out at the swinging door, “who’s Minghao?”

\- - - - -

Minghao, as it turned out, was Wonwoo’s extremely handsome, exceptionally graceful, and extraordinarily talented figure skater friend. 

He was skating backwards, his legs gliding fluidly along the ice and his arms enveloping him as he turned to do a spin that transitioned into a leap. He soared through the air with his arms pulled to his chest and his legs entwined. He landed gently, soft and supple as a feather, onto the ice. 

“Holy shit.”  
He was going to strangle Wonwoo for letting him meet Minghao looking like this—exceedingly disheveled on three hours of sleep. 

Minghao turned at the sound, to Jihoon standing with his mouth agape at the entrance. Wonwoo waved at him and stepped onto the ice with his camera mount. Minghao waved back and pushed off towards them. 

He skidded to a stop in front of him, kicking up some ice. His hair curled softly around a pair of pointed ears and falling just short of a pair of bright eyes. 

“Minghao,” He stuck his hand out and his breath fogged up in the cold air. 

Jihoon took his hand, warm and soft in his own. “Jihoon.” 

Minghao beamed at him, his face lighting up and scrunching up ever so slightly. “Nice to meet you, Jihoon.”

“You too.” He smiled back. 

“Wonwoo roped you into this too?” Minghao turned towards the rink, where Wonwoo was setting up his equipment. 

Jihoon laughed, “Yeah, but at least I’m getting two weeks’ breakfast from it.” 

Minghao pouted, his bottom lip pursing and his nose scrunching. “I only got one week.” 

“You have to wear him down. I can help you with that,” Jihoon offered. 

He chuckled and nodded, “Thanks.” 

“Hey!” Wonwoo yelled at them from the center of the rink, his camera already set up. 

“You ready?” Minghao asked. 

“No,” he shook his head. “I don’t know how to ice skate,” he confessed, wobbling a little on his ice skate despite still being on solid ground. 

Minghao chuckled, “Well, I don’t know how to dance ballet, so I think you’ll be fine.” 

“We can leave and go to the dance studio,” Jihoon offered. 

Minghao burst out into a laugh, “I think I’d be worse at ballet than you’ll be at ice skating.” 

“I highly doubt that,” Jihoon muttered, glowering at Wonwoo. 

He turned towards Jihoon and smiled, “Come on, it’ll be fun.” 

He glided towards the rink and turned around, holding out his hands for Jihoon. His hands were large, fingers long and knobby, fingernails pink at the tip. He placed his hands in Minghao’s and stepped onto the ice. 

Jihoon was normally steady on solid ground. He never fell or tripped or stumbled. It was part of the job description—to be nimble and agile and everything in between. But the ice rink was nothing like solid ground—the floor was being scraped away and melting underneath his feet with every passing second. That didn’t happen in the dance studio. 

His legs wobbled as he tried to step forward, hands now tightly gripping onto Minghao's. His hands were larger than his own but exceptionally warm and soft despite the cold air. He was acutely aware of the video camera pointed at him. 

“Sorry.” Jihoon grimaced, trying to move without his legs completely falling out from under him. 

Minghao just laughed. “Try more gliding and less stepping. It’s not going to be like walking.” He inched backwards a little further and pulled Jihoon towards him. 

Jihoon tried to mimic Minghao’s movement—gliding and not stepping. He manages to push himself forwards a little without his legs wavering. 

“Good! That’s great, Jihoon. A little more.” Minghao pushed himself a little further out, pulling Jihoon with him. Jihoon stumbled, the blades scraping the ice as one of his legs loses balance. Minghao tightened his grasp and pulled him back up, steadying him on the ice.

“Sorry.” Jihoon mumbled again, feeling warmth spreading through his ears. 

Minghao smiled warmly at him. “You don’t have to apologize for being a beginner,” He said softly. “Try tilting the blades out a little, and push forwards with the soles of your feet.” 

Jihoon followed Minghao’s movement, his legs steadying a little bit more. 

They fell into a rhythm, just like that. Minghao gliding backwards ever so slightly and Jihoon inching forwards just as much. With every push forwards, Jihoon’s legs were a little less shaky, his grip a little less tight. 

They manage to round themselves around the perimeter of the rink, Jihoon now pushing forwards in sync with Minghao skating backwards. 

“You’re a natural,” Minghao beamed at him. “I’m going to let you go now, okay?”

Jihoon latched onto him and looked at him, wide-eyed. He shook his head furiously. “No. No way, I’m not ready.” 

Minghao pulled forwards and loosened his hands. 

Jihoon desperately tried to hold on. “Minghao—no—I’m going to fall. I’m going to fall on my ass if you let me go Minghao wait—” 

Minghao managed to loosen one of his hand, and Jihoon could already feel the ground give beneath him. 

“Wait—don’t let go—I can’t do this—Minghao—" Minghao extracted his hand and glided backwards out of reach. 

Jihoon stilled. He stretched his hands outwards to steady himself, and his legs wavered and glided back and forth before he manages to balance himself, torso bent forwards and legs outstretched. 

He looked at Minghao, open-mouthed, not daring to move a muscle. Minghao looked back and grinned encouragingly. 

“You got this,” he began to drift backwards, away from Jihoon. “Try and catch up to me.” He held out his hand and continued to drift. 

Jihoon shook his head. “I’m going to fall.” 

“You’re not going to fall,” Minghao drifted backward even further, “Come on.” 

Jihoon hesitated, slowly pushing forwards on his soles. He manages to glide a little without wavering. Minghao nods enthusiastically, slowing down his pace to let Jihoon catch up. 

Jihoon continued like that, inching just a little bit forward with a small push, his arms still outstretched ridiculously to keep his balance. He could feel the camera pointed at him. 

He was in the last stretch, Minghao just one glide away, when he put a little too much strength into his push and loses his balance. He felt the first leg glide out of his control, and the other following just behind. His feet slipped out and he fell hard onto his ass. 

The ice is much harder than he expected, and he groaned. He can hear Wonwoo laughing in the distance. 

“Are you okay?” Minghao reached out to him, eyebrows furrowed in concern. 

Jihoon took his hand and pulled himself up. “I’m fine,” he groaned. “I told you I was going to fall on my ass.” 

Minghao giggled, a light tinkering that fluttered in his stomach. 

Minghao tugged on his hands. “Let’s keep going.” 

\- - - - -

A couple of laps around the ice rink and a few more falls later, Jihoon finally begins to get the hang of it. At least, he wasn’t falling on his ass anymore

“Do you want to try some moves now?” Wonwoo called out from the center of the ice.

“Absolutely not.” Jihoon glared at him and clutched onto the perimeter of the rink. 

Wonwoo sighed, “I can’t make a video out of you falling on your ass and holding hands with Minghao.” 

“I’m not—that’s—he was helping me skate,” Jihoon sputtered, glancing over at Minghao, who was doing spins on the other side of the rink. “He wasn’t holding my hands—I mean he was but he was just—” Jihoon felt warmth flooding his neck and creeping up towards his ears, “he was holding me steady—which just so _happens_ to mean that he has to hold my hands but it’s not—” 

Wonwoo just raised an eyebrow, “Jihoon,” he cut him off, an amused glint in his eyes, “I was joking.” 

Jihoon glared at him, his face much too warm for how cold the rink was. “You’re an asshole,” he growled. 

“So you want to learn how to actually figure skate?” Wonwoo cheerily replied.

“No,” he spat out and tried to skate away as fast as he can. 

“Minghao,” Wonwoo yelled out. 

Minghao stopped his spins and coasted to Jihoon, stopping him in his tracks. “We can do a few easy moves—you’ll have fun.” 

He gave Jihoon a reassuring smile, the light reflecting off the ice into a twinkle in his eyes. 

Jihoon was sure that he was going to fall on his ass if he did anything other than gliding with two solid feet on the ice. He was sure that two weeks of breakfast was not worth the embarrassment he was subjecting himself to. He was sure that the pointed ears and the sparkly eyes in front of him was actively contributing to his gradual demise, whether he knew it or not. 

He was sure that nothing good would come from this, yet all that comes out of his stupid mouth was, “Okay.” 

Minghao lit up. 

“We can start with an arabesque. Do you know what that is?” Minghao sailed towards the center of the rink. 

He did know what that was, in ballet at least. “You want me to stand on one leg?” He asked incredulously. 

“I want you to skate backwards on one leg,” Minghao replied. He pushed himself off and raised one leg horizontally back, stretching his arms up and gliding effortlessly across the ice. 

“I can barely skate forwards on two legs,” Jihoon groaned, clutching onto the side of the rink. 

“Push off on the outer edge, and then slowly lift your other leg.” Minghao demonstrated again. 

Jihoon just shook his head, gripping onto the side of the rink and skating away. Minghao easily caught up to him and reached out his hands.

“Come,” Minghao said. 

Jihoon couldn’t say no, with the outstretched hands and the sparkly eyes and the gentle smile. So he placed his hands into Minghao’s and let himself be dragged towards the center of the ice. 

“Just follow what I do. Push off the outer edge, hold, and slowly lift your other leg.” He did so again. 

Jihoon followed in his lead. He pushed backwards on the ice, and glided. He shifted his weight onto one leg, and slowly lifted the other leg. His other leg immediately wobbled and he held out his arms to regain his balance. Minghao skated towards him, holding onto his hands and securing him on the ice. He held Jihoon as he skated backwards until he settled back on the ice on two feet. 

“Good! That was really good Jihoon. Let’s try it again.” 

Jihoon let out a long sigh—he just got back on two feet—but nodded and followed his movements again. Minghao skated not too far behind him, hand outstretched, ready to catch him. 

He managed to get his other leg a little higher this time, and Minghao broke into a wide grin. 

“That’s really good! Point your toes!” Minghao shouted and skated after him. Jihoon tried to follow his directions, as much as he could in the clunky rented skates. 

“I think I’m doing it,” Jihoon shouted proudly back at Minghao, arms wobbling. Minghao laughed and nodded, arms still outstretched. He glided in a semi-circle until he slowly trailed into a stop on the rink perimeter. 

Jihoon landed back on the ice, grinning widely. “Did you see that?” 

Minghao skidded to a stop in front of him and giggled, the kind that fluttered in Jihoon’s stomach. 

“You have a real talent for this,” he said, smiling from ear to ear. His hair was disheveled from skating after Jihoon, and the nice waves in his hair were now falling into his bright brown eyes. His cheeks were pink, probably a combination of being in the cold and chasing after him.

The rink was still freezing, and his legs were still banged up, and there was a permanent bruise on his ass, but all of that fell to a dull ache in comparison to the sight in front of him.

Jihoon could feel heat creeping up the back of his neck again and pulled his hoodie a little closer to him. 

“So, what’s next?” He looked down at the ice and mumbled. 

Minghao pondered for a bit. “Do you want to learn how to do a spin?”

Jihoon made a face, “Do you think I can do a spin?” 

“I think you can do anything,” he replied with a big grin, giving him a wink. 

Jihoon somehow choked on the air, taking too big of a breath and trying to swallow it down at the same time. 

He tried to disguise his choke with a cough and cleared his throat, “Right. Uhm, what kind of a spin?” 

Minghao coasted to the center of the ice. “The most basic one is the two-foot spin.” He stretched out one of his legs to the side. Jihoon copied his pose. 

“Start skating in a circle, with one leg outstretched.” He started gliding around. Jihoon does the same, trying to keep his balance. 

“Then, skate faster and make your circle smaller until you’re only spinning on one blade.” He spun effortlessly on one leg. 

“And bring your other foot together and your arms in and keep spinning.” He crossed his arms into his chest and began to spin faster until finally skidding to a stop and extending his arms outwards in a flourish. 

Jihoon just stared at him, expressionless. 

Minghao laughed, “Just try.” 

He tried. He began to spin on one blade when his leg teetered precariously and he began to lose balance. He stretched out his arms to break his fall, ready to land another bruise.

But Minghao caught him by his arms, steadying him as he spun down and settled back on the ice on two feet. 

“One more time,” he encouraged, “Don’t be nervous—the ice can sense your fear.” 

Jihoon burst into laughter, surprised, and nodded. 

He managed to get the hang of it this time—skating and picking up speed until he was spinning and spinning, arms folded in and legs intertwined.

“Am I doing it?” Jihoon shouted, everything around him moving too fast to distinguish any shape or form. There’s a blob of red where Minghao and his jacket should be, and there’s a spot of black that was most likely Wonwoo in the distance. 

“You’re doing it,” Minghao affirmed, sounding far in the distance. 

Jihoon was beginning to lose speed, but everything was coming into view extremely tilted and lopsided. He couldn’t stop the spinning and felt himself beginning to lose balance, tipping over on one side. He couldn’t make sense of anything, only seeing a red form coming closer and closer before closing his eyes, letting it completely envelop him. 

“I’m dizzy,” he mumbled, voice muffled by something. There’s a rumble that turns into an audible chuckle and he opened his eyes to see himself completely face-to-chest with Minghao, whose arms were completely looped around him. 

“I thought ballet dancers were good at spins,” Minghao looked down at him with an amused grin. 

If Jihoon felt warm before, he was certainly scorching hot now. He wiggled out of Minghao’s hold, skating away and trying to cool himself despite being surrounding by ice. He was sure the burning on his cheeks could melt layers in the rink. 

“Do you want to try everything together? It would be a good conclusion to the video.” Wonwoo called out to them. 

Minghao nodded and gave Wonwoo a thumbs up. Jihoon was resolute to not face Minghao. 

“Jihoon, are you okay?" Wonwoo asked. "You look awfully red,” Wonwoo pointed out with a smug smile on his face. 

Jihoon scowled at him, giving him a sharp stare. “It’s very cold.” Jihoon said staunchly. 

“It’s only like 50 degrees here,” Wonwoo noted. Minghao giggled. Jihoon was having a hard time keeping his deathly stare with the fluttering in his stomach. 

“Alright, so one last round?” They nodded. 

Jihoon began by skating laps around the ice rink. He was much more stable, his legs no longer wavering. He managed to glide successfully to a halt in the center of the ice. Minghao demonstrated another arabesque, and he followed closely behind. Minghao does a perfect spin, ending with a twirl of his hands. Jihoon managed to get himself spinning, but began to lose balance again while spinning down. He tottered on his blade until Minghao reached out and grabbed his hand, steadying him while he slowed to a stop. Minghao doesn’t let go, only threading his hand into Jihoon’s and pulling him towards Wonwoo. He held their intertwined hands up, and brings them down with a bow. 

“He did a great job,” Minghao spoke to the camera. “The best student I’ve seen in years.” He beamed proudly, squeezing Jihoon’s hand. 

“I had a good teacher,” Jihoon mumbled. Another squeeze. 

“And…cut.” Wonwoo turned off the camera. “Thanks guys. I’ll come by with food tomorrow.” He promised and skated off to the rink exit 

They followed him, Minghao pulling him along by his hand. He lets go when they reached the rink exit, and Jihoon hurriedly stepped off the ice, settling on a bench and untying his skates. He breathed a sigh of relief he gets them off, placing his foot flat on the ground. 

Minghao laughed and sat down next to him, untying his own skates. 

“Did you have fun?” Minghao asked. 

“Yeah, but don’t tell Wonwoo,” Jihoon nodded in his direction. “He won’t buy me breakfast if he thinks I had too much fun.” 

Minghao giggled again, and the fluttering made a gut-punching return. 

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to take you up on your offer.” Minghao said. 

“To get more food out of Wonwoo? You just have to keep glaring at him—it usually works for me,” Jihoon noted.

Minghao chuckled, “No—to see you in the dance studio.” 

Oh.

“You want to learn ballet?” Jihoon turned quizzically towards him. 

“Kind of. I want to see you dance ballet, ” Minghao replied, a glimmer in his eyes. 

Oh. 

“You want to see me dance?” Jihoon repeated. 

“I want to see you,” Minghao said, a soft smile on his face. “Again,” he added. 

Oh. 

He can’t see his face, but he imagined it was turning cherry red, beet red, vermillion red, Minghao’s jacket red. 

“Well—yes—I want to too,” He stuttered out. “See you,” He added. He looked down at his feet, his skates balanced against Minghao’s own. 

Minghao bent down, face popping into his field of vision, hair flopping off his head and swinging over his bright, shimmering eyes. He intertwined Jihoon’s hand in his own and grinned.

“It’s a date.” 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading :-)  
> comments are always appreciated  
> [come talk to me](http://www.twitter.com/jungnoonoo) about hoonhao i have a lot to say


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